100k Taxi Users Could OmiseGO TADA Soon
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A popular taxi app, with more than 100,000 users in Singapore, thinks it can improve its service using cryptocurrency and blockchain. The financial services platform, OmiseGO (OMG), has agreed to explore possible use cases with them. The collaboration might even see the two working together to bring crypto payments to the taxi service.
OmiseGO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today with Mass Vehicle Ledger (MVL), the company behind the popular ride-hailing app TADA. The agreement will see the two companies collaborate on research and technical development. The hope is the two companies will develop a strong proof-of-concept (POC) for how blockchain, and the OMG platform specifically, can improve the TADA app.
“We are pleased to sign an MOU with MVL to deliver a POC for their ride hailing service TADA,” said OmiseGO’s managing director, Vansa Chatikavanij. “This serves as a step forward in our efforts to showcase the potential and benefits of the technologies.”
OmiseGO and TADA
Based in Singapore, TADA already uses blockchain to offer users a cheaper cab fare. Unlike centralized services, such as Uber and Grab, the project does not charge a commission. Although the app only launched in the summer, it has picked up significant traction. So far more than 100,000 people in Singapore had used the service, with roughly 17,000 car owners registering as drivers. They have also expanded their services to other countries within the region, including South Korea.
OmiseGO is a decentralized network offering flexibility to payment providers. Working as a dApp off the Ethereum (ETH) network, it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Thai-based payment solution, Omise. Similar to Ripple (XRP) or Stellar (XLM), their services are aimed at the existing financial institutions. A mover rather than a shaker.
The OMG network is essentially a trustless intermediary for parties to securely transact with one another, in the asset – fiat or crypto – of their choice. It has already implemented the plasma protocol, which processes transactions off the root chain to ease congestion, making transactions faster and cheaper. The platform also relies on a team of validators to confirm transactions. The OMG token is used to pay for transaction fees and must be staked by validators, acting as a form of security deposit.
Is this significant OmiseGO news?
This is an MOU. Details and particulars of the MOU remain sparse and in the end, nothing may come out of the agreement. Still, the two companies have suggested that the OMG blockchain could be used to log data collected from the TADA app. The service currently records data on transactions, car movements, accidents, and traffic flow onto the MVL blockchain. The idea is the data can be recorded by MVL straight onto the OMG network.
MVL’s CEO, Kay Woo, also hinted the OMG blockchain to improve payment options for TADA users. This might include offering options for consumers to pay for rides in cryptocurrency, as well as in the local fiat currency. “We expect to bring real-life use cases with TADA using OmiseGO’s Crypto payment”, said Woo.
The name OmiseGO may take on a whole new, and slightly more literal, meaning.
The author is invested in ETH, which is mentioned in this article.
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